Sunday, 29 August 2010

Of course it is! Why? Because my fingers are itching to turn out tiny adorable sweaters. I've even been working on another one. Proof:

This will be our boy's requisite infant Aran. Originally I had intended this yarn for a different sweater altogether, but there's enough of it for this cabled sweater -- and I like it better, too.

And while we're talking baby boy clothes - I found an amazing sale at Bonnie Togs this weekend. I got all of this:

for $88! What a freakin' steal! As it happens, they're clearing out the summer line, and much of what you see here was marked down to $3/hanger. On the hangers, there is one t-shirt, one onesie, and one pair of shorts. So I still have to buy our little fellow some pants, but 2 shirts for $3 is still awesome! I also need to get him some sweaters, but as noted above, I'm working on that. Or I will be . . . once it's no longer hot.

Friday, 27 August 2010

Seems like all I blog about lately are dolls. Seems like all I've done for a while is sew dolls. I'm not complaining - this is good news! I'm just sorry I'm not more interesting.

Suddenly I'm in a doll dry spot - which is probably for the best since I'm running low on interlock (skin) and stockinette again, and I'm nearly out of wool stuffing . . . but it kind of makes me sad at the same time. I wish I were enjoying the success of Bamboletta, Fig and Me, Dragonfly's Hollow . . . but for some reason, my dolls aren't really moving. Of the 13 dolls I've made, five were sold. 2 are hanging around waiting to be sold. The rest were given away - except Beebie. She's still here. Anyway, you didn't click this way to watch me mope . . but if you have a few moments, check out my shop here and tell me if you can why these dolls aren't going anywhere. Should I just chalk it up to being new on the scene? Is something terribly wrong and I've over-looked it? What's the deal?

Doll #13! Beth-Anne.

Oh yeah, she's cute! Of the 5 dolls that have sold, 3 are this pattern - the 10" jointed doll. It seems to be a favourite.

I also did some knitting in the past week. Since we now know the gestating addition is a boy, I was able to get some nice boy coloured yarn, and queued some nice boy type patterns . . . and I knit this:

Baby Sophisticate. And it's darn cute too. Still needs buttons (gimme a break! This time last week I was still pondering yarn choices!), and a blocking - but I can't wait to see it on my tiny baby son!

Friday, 13 August 2010

Last Friday, our internet went out. We weren't around to have it restored until last night. That's one week. One week without internet - I still have it at work, and on my phone, but I am somewhat more limited. It felt like a very long time. I'm extremely happy to have it fixed, and even happier that the ISP we use is crediting our service for that week.

A week without internet or TV is a productive week. I got doll clothes made. 2 pairs of custom ordered PJs and one pair of PJs for an auction. I got 2 dolls cut out and partially made. They have heads and torsos. They need more work, but that's not a big deal.

I got a little wee sweater mostly knit for our upcoming son. Yes, that's right - it's a boy! We look forward to welcoming a little brother for Sweet Pea.

I wanted to show you some pictures of our garden, but something seems to be going wrong. I was going to show you the tiny green peppers and the sidewalk full of cherry tomatoes. I was going to show you the beefsteak tomatoes the size of my fist - still green and growing bigger every day . . . but I can't seem to get photos to upload. Just as soon as I get it figured out, I'll share.

Thursday, 5 August 2010

I tried something new with Lindy, and I'm just not sold on it. Usually, for hair I do the crocheted cap with the hooked hair style. It's fully style-able, easily changed if need be (we all have an incident with a favourite doll and a hair cut in our past, don't we?) terrifically time consuming, and since I'm not a crocheter wildly difficult and aggravating for me. For Lindy's hair, I decided to try the layered wig I hear so much about.Pros: it's quick, easy, doesn't take a huge amount of yarn or self-control, easy to add awesome highlights.Cons: Not as styleable, I just don't like the way it lies.The pros do outweigh the cons, but the cons are pretty sizeable. As such, I won't be adding the layered wig to my rotation for dolls. I think as a doll maker - or really as anyone who sells anything, you have to be proud of the product you're putting out there with your name on it. With my dolls, I tend to make them with this criteria in mind: would I put this doll in Sweet Pea's hands? Would I let her take it out in public? If someone asked me where I got it, would I tell them I made it? If it's not good enough for my daughter, it's certainly not good enough to sell. The layered wig is not good enough. I guess I'll have to brush up on my crochet skills.

I also want to apologize for my recent radio silence. Life is catching up with me, and there have been a lot of early nights - pregnancy and summer are a poor combination.